Land Next to Me
by siriusly-random
Summary: Three hundred years since the human race has set foot on Earth, one hundred teen prisoners are sent down with nothing but their wits. Even though she's just as scared as everyone else, Lucy Heartfilia will do anything she can to make sure they survive. FT/the 100 AU!
1. Whatever the Hell You Want

**Chapter 1: Whatever The Hell We Want**

 _So this is a cross over with the 100! I hope to do this justice, and this chapter is pretty similar to ep 1 but after this it's going to get quite different. Notice- I changed 97 years to 300._

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 _I say, screw fear. I'm telling my own damn story._

 _{Bellamy Blake}_

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The ground was rough and uneven beneath her feet as she took her first few cautious steps, weary of her new surroundings. Her new home. She relished in the sounds of the leaves crunching with each step, and the feel of the wind on her face.

They were alive.

When the door to the drop ship opened, she didn't know what they were going to face; whether or not they would be hit with radiation and burn and die. She was scared.

But that wasn't the case and she, despite everything, was happy. For the moment at least. They still needed to figure out food, water, shelter, and everything else. For now she would take in the earth—a place she never thought she would get to.

She looked around with wide eyes. Trees loomed above, mesmerizing, with thick branches full of colourful leaves falling every now and then. The sounds of the other prisoners echoed through the forest, so utterly entranced by this new world. A smile quirked the corner of her mouth, slowly breaking into a grin as she took in a deep breath. Fresh air filled her lungs. _Fresh_ air.

It was _heavenly._

"What are we going to do, Lucy?" The sound of her best friend's voice brought her out of her trance, drawing her back into reality. Lucy bit her lip, looking to Levy uncertainly. She fumbled with her bracelet, toying with the keys attached to it.

"I'm not sure, Lev." She looked around at everyone laughing and exploring the ground in excitement, but still staying close to the ship. She figured they were just as scared as she was, even if they weren't showing it.

She spotted Jellal and Wendy—the sister locked up for being born, and the brother who watched as his mother got floated. She pitied them. Her eyes softened as he pulled the young blue-haired girl in for a side hug. At least they were together now.

"Whatever the hell we want," a voice stated confidently from behind Lucy. Turning around, she saw Cana, the girl who had been imprisoned for stealing alcohol.

There were worse things to go down for, she mused. Lucy rolled her eyes and looked up to the grinning brunette.

"We're free from the Ark now, with no one to tell us what we can and can't do, so I say we do _whatever the hell we want_." Cana emphasized at the end, smirking with her hands coming to rest on her hips.

"Cana," Lucy stated forcefully, crossing her arms, "there are one hundred people here, most of us under the age of eighteen." She glanced briefly at Jellal, wondering how he was here. It didn't make sense. "And we don't have enough food or clean water to last a week, let alone months, _if_ we survive that long. Plus, where is everyone going to _sleep_?" Lucy narrowed her eyes, daring Cana to go against her logic. "It's been over three hundred years since anyone has been to Earth. We can't just do _whatever the hell we want_. We need order."

"Order?" Cana laughed, though it wasn't a happy sound. "Fuck order. We're finally free and able to _live._ Don't you want to live, Lucy?"

"Yes. Which is exactly why we need to have a game plan. To establish some basic rules." Cana shook her head, sighing as she turned her back on Lucy.

"That's not living, princess. That's surviving."

Scowling at the nickname, Lucy stomped back to the drop ship to search through what little the Ark had supplied them with. The Chancellor said there was a bunker close by with supplies to last them a few years, they just had to find it with the map that was given to them.

"She's right you know."

Turning, Lucy spotted blue hair and recognized Jellal almost immediately. Licking her lips, she narrowed her eyes before going back to one of the bins and continuing to search through the contents. She already found the map, she just needed to be prepared for the journey. "Why are you even down here Jellal? You're twenty-one. You aren't a guard." Canteen. Protein bars. Knife. They didn't give them much.

And with a cold revelation, Lucy's resolve only hardened. They didn't expect them to survive.

She would make sure they did.

Ignoring her questions, Jellal carried on. "We finally have freedom, don't you want to know what that's like?" He came closer, looming over her as she glanced at him over her shoulder, eyes hiding something she couldn't quite figure out.

"First we survive. Then we live," she said. Adamantly, she grabbed her pack and the few others she put together before storming out of the drop ship.

"Whatever the hell you want."

Lucy paused at the entrance, looking back to him, gaze steeled. "Whatever the hell you want, Jellal." She hiked up the packs on her shoulder, leaving him in the drop ship as she went to find Levy again. She felt irritated, his expression burned into her mind, refusing to leave. She still wanted to know _how_ he got onto the drop ship since the why was pretty obvious. The way he and Wendy smiled at each other warmed her heart and gave her something _good_ to focus on for a little bit.

"Here you go, Lev," Lucy tossed her one of the packs and set the others by her feet. "Couldn't find much, but it's better than nothing. There's just the matter of not knowing what's out there and nothing to really protect us." Which was the biggest thing and, in hindsight, Lucy should have tried to cooperate with Jellal a bit more since she saw he had a gun. But he grated her nerves in the worst way, and she wasn't having that. "Here, you're the better navigator. Probably," Lucy grinned as she gave Levy the map, the blue-haired girl giving an airy laugh. What good were tests and scores when it really came down to it. They were here now and who knew what would happen.

"So, who else is coming?" Levy asked, already studying the map. It wouldn't take her long to decide the best route to take.

"Good question." That was the next step—finding people to go with them. She knew Levy could easily get Jet and Droy, since they were both basically in love with her, but they weren't enough and they needed more people they could trust.

She scanned the area and a grin broke out on her face.

Loke.

They'd had their differences in the past—mostly involving his refusal to knock off his overdramatic 'lovey' talk to anything walking on two legs—but quickly got over them.

Lucy looked to Levy, "You go get Jet and Droy, I'll get Loke." Levy nodded and took off with a smile she knew would get the pair in an instant.

Making her way to Loke, Lucy smirked, wrapped her arm around his waist, and poked his cheek. He looked down at her, eye twitching as he glared at her finger. He hated it when people touched his face- a fact she knew and took full advantage of- and the irritation on his face was purposefully undisguised.

It quickly changed, however, to a flirty smile. "Why hello, princess, what sparked this lovely visit?" He wrapped an arm around her and adjusted his sunglasses with his free hand. Flirtatious banter was something that had quickly become a part of their friendship, but there was never any serious intent behind it. If anything, Loke was like her brother. He was someone she would do anything for, and she knew that whatever he said, he felt the same.

"Want to go on an adventure?" she asked, letting her arm drop and offering one of the packs.

He dipped into a small bow, accepting the pack as graciously as he could, "Anything for my darling Lucy." Rolling her eyes, Lucy gave him a playful nudge before gesturing for them to make their way back to Levy.

"Ready to go?" Levy gave Lucy and Loke a quick once-over. Jet and Droy flanked her on either side with their packs slung over their shoulders, equal expressions of adoration fixed on her.

 _Poor things._

"Yeah, let's go." Lucy couldn't deny that she was extremely excited. To be able to see Earth and explore it—it was a dream come true. She never thought she'd get to see it.

With smiles and a thirst for adventure they set off into the woods, excitement coursing through their veins in anticipation of a new adventure.

Xxx

"So, it should be about five miles east from here."

The lake had been the perfect place to take a break and bask in the beauty of the sun. Birds chirped in the trees, leaves rustled in the wind, there was a river close enough to hear that they couldn't see where they were sitting. Levy was mapping out the rest of their course, being careful to leave marks on the trees with chalk from the dropship so they could easily find their way back.

"Five more miles?" Loke groaned, plopping down onto a log with exhaustion. "Haven't we walked twenty by now?"

"We've walked about four, Loke." Levy deadpanned, eyes not leaving the map in front of her. Grumbling in response, Loke rested his chin on his hand and kicked at the dirt with his heels.

Lucy snickered and shook her head with a smile. Loke was such a child sometimes.

She stretched her arms high behind her to pull at the knots in her back and looked back out at the lake in front of them. It was a beautiful sight. Rocks and trees surrounded the shore, the sun's rays sparkled off the shallow ripples—this was something she promised to keep in her memory forever.

 _You would love it here, mom._

"Oh no."

Turning at the sound, Lucy looked at Levy with concern. The blue haired girl stared at the map with wide eyes and a hand covering her mouth.

"Levy?" Lucy stood and walked over to her friend, knowing that it could be nothing good. The rest of their group crowded the small girl as she pointed to a patch of green.

"I should've noticed this sooner. But there isn't supposed to be a lake here."

One beat.

"We're on the wrong damn side of the mountain."

Two beats.

"Are you _fucking_ kidding me?" Loke growled, snatching the map from her to get a look himself.

"Loke…" Lucy didn't know what to say. It was her fault for dragging him along without really thinking about the consequences, and she didn't know what to do. It made sense though. Their map was three hundred years old, it was bound to have some discrepancies, but that only meant that there was most likely a lot more wrong with it. They might not even be heading in the right direction.

"Well I guess that only means one thing!" Levy stood, grabbed the map back from Loke, and stuffed it back in her bag. With hands on her hips, she stared them all down. "We've got to cross the water and go as far as we think is safe before nightfall. We won't get anything done if we don't try!"

Levy's enthusiasm had Jet and Droy cheering her on, and Lucy chuckling at their chanting. She couldn't help her smile as she grabbed her pack and walked over to Loke, resting a hand on his shoulder. His gaze was firmly fixed on the ground, both sad and deep in thought. Lucy frowned. It was a shitty situation. The whole thing was. None of them agreed to go to Earth, and none of them were ready for it.

"Hey," she started, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "Cheer up, yeah? We'll get through this. I know we will."

He glanced at her before he looked back at the lake and tilted his head to the sun. "It really is beautiful, isn't it?"

With a smile and nod, she grabbed his hand and led him over to the others. "Yeah, it is."

They joined Levy, Jet and Droy by one of the larger rocks along the shore. Levy smiled and hooked a thumb over her shoulder, the three of them had found the river.

Water from upstream shimmered a foot or two over a thick, submerged rock-face. "Found an old bridge, I think," Levy prodded at the rocks in the water with the tip of her boot.

"Think it's safe to cross?" Lucy swallowed at Levy's movements, suddenly overly cautious of their new environment. She didn't know what was in the water, or hell, whether the water _itself_ was even safe.

"It's pretty shallow here and the rocks seem to go all the way across from what I can see." Levy took a tentative step forward, water coming up to her ankles. The rubber of her heel shifted under her weight and Lucy's heart leapt into her throat. This was dangerous. She shouldn't be doing this alone.

But by the time Lucy looked up from Levy's boots to tell her just that, she was already halfway across the river.

Panic quickly took hold of her, and Lucy scrambled toward the riverside, feet moving of their own accord. Levy was getting farther and farther away, Jet and Droy lazily following behind her. If she didn't do anything...if she kept going—

 _No._

 _Come back._

Lucy felt a hand on her arm tugging her back, but she ripped herself away. She needed to get to her friend. It wasn't safe. It _wasn't safe._

"Levy!" Lucy yelled—making her way across the lake—eyes catching those of her friend, safe and sound, and for a moment she thought it would be okay.

A high-pitched whirr in the air had her stomach dropping.

And then there was a spear in Levy's chest.

Blood rushed in her ears, running cold, and almost in slow motion Levy crumpled to the ground.

And then she was screaming.

 _"Levy!"_

She tore toward the other side of the river, struggling against arms now encasing her, trying to get to her friend who was dying, if not already dead.

Another whirr. Another spear just narrowly missing her nose.

"Lucy, we can't go over there!" She barely heard Loke's yell over the adrenaline even though he was wrapped around her. She heard him calling to Jet and Droy, but they either couldn't hear him, or weren't responding. They stood halfway from the shore, paralyzed at the sight of their best friend on the ground, impaled, and probably bleeding to death.

A strong shake pulled her from shock.

"We need to get out of here!" Loke's voice was both urgent and comforting. How did he even manage that? A hand stroked through her hair to calm her down as he pulled her back toward the shore as quickly and safely as he could. "We'll come back. We'll come back and get her. I promise. Breathe, Lucy. Breathe for me."

Her breathing started evening out, shallow breaths turning into long, stuttering gulps through her nose and out her mouth. In and out, in and out. Her fingers ached, curled into his shirt, and eyes cleared of tears. She looked over her shoulder to Levy and bit her lip.

 _We'll come back, Levy. Hang on._

With one last deep exhale, she gave Loke a slight nod, telling him she was okay now.

Loke helped her to the shore, picked her up as soon as she was out of the water, and carried her as fast as he could back to the woods. The sound of Jet and Droy's feet hitting the water and thumping behind them calmed her nerves, so she concentrated on that.

Loke sat her down against a tree and shoved his pack inside hers before slinging it back over his shoulder. He looked at her, concern and anxiety all over his face as he pulled her to her feet.

An arrow bit into the bark of the tree where she'd just been sitting.

They didn't have time to look back. Twigs cracked beneath their feet, large branches snapped in the trees around them. Lucy hastily wiped away new tears as she kept pace with Loke. She could hear Jet and Droy's muffled cries behind her as they picked up the pace, finding each tree Levy had marked on their way.

Her voice barely carried over the sound of their heavy breathing.

 _"We're not alone."_


	2. Weakness is Death, Fear is Death

_Enjoy chapter 2 from Natsu's POV!_

 _List of translations are at the bottom!_

 _Dont forget to review ;)_

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 **Chapter 2: Down Here, Weakness is Death, Fear is Death**

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"What the hell?"

Fire blazed in the sky, bright and blinding as it descended, moving closer and closer to the ground. Natsu's eyes fixed on it, at first thinking it was a star, but the closer it got, the less likely it became.

A large group gathered, surrounding Natsu, all looking up at the sky. The younger children muttered to each other about it being a falling star, just like he'd thought it was, but those who were older knew better.

This was dangerous.

A heavy weight settled in the pit of Natsu's stomach, fear of the unknown creeping up on him.

" _Vieda_." Natsu tensed at the familiar voice and his back straightened as he turned to face Acnologia.

Natsu looked up at him. "Chief?"

"They're from the sky— _Skaikru_. They are not welcome here." A shiver ran down Natsu's spine at Acnologia's menacing expression and he nodded at the chief's words as he hid his anxiety.

A new clan.

 _Skaikru_.

The unfamiliar word sounded strange in his mind.

Even if there _were_ people falling from the sky, they wouldn't last long if Acnologia's expression was anything to go by.

He couldn't believe it. He didn't _want_ to believe it.

The legends had spoke of those from centuries past who'd travelled to the sky, but he thought they would all be dead by now. It was inevitable. How would they grow food, or even get _water_? They were in space, where there was nothing but stars and the moon.

Besides, even if there were people coming down, those flames would've surely engulfed them.

"Come," Acnologia barked. He strode to the main war hut and paused at the entrance, looking back. "Gajeel!"

"What?" It was muffled. From the other side of the hut.

"Did you get everyone?"

"No."

"Well hurry the fuck up. Get the council members. We gotta figure out our defense. Go _now_." With that, their Chief disappeared inside.

Reluctantly, Natsu made his way over, Sting sidling up next to him. He quirked a curious eyebrow at the blond, earning a mere shrug from him.

It was clear to him that Sting also had his doubts. He'd never been as good as Natsu at hiding his feelings.

Natsu kept his face neutral and shoulders pushed back as he entered the hut. If he wanted to stay alive, he couldn't let his guard down. Not around their chief.

Being part of the chief's personal guard was never in Natsu's plans, yet here he was, thanks to being a protective idiot. He never would've volunteered if he'd thought there was any other way to protect Romeo or one of the other kids from being selected.

Taking his seat at the round table, Natsu glanced to the rest of the room—Laxus and Cobra on either side of Acnologia, Sting and Rogue beside Cobra.

He narrowed his eyes at Gajeel who sat beside him, cool air following him from the outside. His obvious pleasure at being back here once again written all over his face, no doubt aching to kill.

Disgusting.

Not to say that Natsu didn't love a good fight himself. He just didn't like killing for pleasure like the others seemed to.

"The legends spoke of the sky people and how one day they would return," Acnologia stood, expression hard yet manic. "I cannot predict where their ship will land, but if they come into our territory," he gazed at each other them, grin turning sadistic as his eyes landed on Natsu, " _frag emo op_."

Natsu heard Gajeel let out a grunt of agreement, saw Cobra's smirk and the coldness in Acnologia's eyes, and made a vow to himself.

He would kill Acnologia, whatever it took.

The Chief assigned positions. Cobra and Laxus would cover the North and South, respectively, Sting and Rogue the East, Natsu and Gajeel the West. Natsu tuned out the rest. He didn't care about strategies or whatever else they were discussing.

Shuffling pulled Natsu from his thoughts as everyone stood and headed out of the hut, excitement and bloodlust clinging to them. It had been quiet recently, with the new Commander's coalition, not many opportunities for blood to have blood.

The needless wars and senseless killing had stopped for the most part. Natsu had been able to spend more time with Romeo and the other children, grateful to keep them from the danger the other krus could be, and teach them to how defend themselves—not only physically but mentally.

 _Never show weakness._ He told them, fiercely. _Weakness is death. Fear is death. Don't show your fear._

"Let's go, Salamander." The gruff sound of his reluctant partner broke him away from his thoughts. He turned to face Gajeel, and with a nod, grabbed his bow and arrows. He followed Gajeel to the trees, the pair moving quickly and quietly as they approached their border near the mountain, neither saying anything.

They never really got along, though Natsu didn't get along well with any of the guard for that matter. They enjoyed killing, he didn't. It was as simple as that. If tolerated any of them, it was Sting and Rogue—mostly because he'd helped teach them to fight, and they knew when to spare a life.

The duo perched themselves up in the trees, facing the lake, waiting for the so-called ' _Skaikru_ ' to approach. Natsu still doubted that anyone could survive the fall on a flaming fireball. It could just be a falling star like he initially thought—even if that didn't make much sense either—besides, if there had been people in the sky for all these years, why come down _now_?

"This is pointless," Natsu grumbled as he adjusted his quiver. They would be stuck in this spot for days before Acnologia would send for them once he realized there were no invaders.

At least, Natsu hoped that was the case. If there really _were_ sky people, they wouldn't know about the boundaries or the kill order, and Natsu would be forced to kill innocent people in order to save himself.

He had to figure a way out of this.

"It's the chief's command, don't complain." Gajeel spared him a single glance as he surveyed the land in front of them. "Unless you'd rather step down from the guard?"

Natsu saw him smirk. Gajeel knew the answer already. The day Natsu stepped down from the guard was the day Natsu died. He would never let someone take his place and have them be subjected to Acnologia's reign. It was his burden to bear.

 _Protect those who cannot protect themselves, Natsu. Don't be afraid._

He wasn't sure what Igneel would think if he saw him now. He hoped that he'd be proud.

Voices drifted over from across the river.

Voices speaking english.

His pulse quickened and his gaze darted to Gajeel, fists clenched at the ever-expanding grin on his partner's face. He saw Gajeel's grip on the spear tighten, poised to attack, aching to launch it.

"Only if they cross, Gajeel," Natsu spoke low, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. He couldn't see the people yet, but he knew they were there, and they were most likely not _Trigedakru_.

"Yeah, yeah," Gajeel waved him off, branch beneath him bending dangerously as he practically bounced on his heels.

A predatory grin warped his face.

Scowling, Natsu readied his bow and tried to figure a way out of this. He could only pray they didn't cross the river.

The group appeared from the woods dressed in strange clothes and, from what he could tell, weaponless.

He frowned and slackened his grip on his bow, curious. He couldn't understand why they'd wander this far from their crash site, if it was indeed _Skaikru_ , and without weapons at that.

"Gajeel," he stated, hooking his bow over his head, string across his chest, "these people aren't dangerous. They don't even have weapons."

"Your point?" Gajeel scowled and his eyes narrowed, not bothering to spare Natsu a glance.

"Wouldn't it be better to question them? Ask them _why_ they're here?" He was grasping at straws—a lost cause, and he knew it. Gajeel knew it too.

"The chief told us to kill 'em if they cross, so if they cross I'm gonna kill 'em. End of story."

Natsu sighed and turned to the odd looking group. They were young, two girls and three boys, probably around his own age. They were discussing something, looking at a big piece of...something with markings on it. What was it? They were pointing to it and then looking up and around. What were they doing? Maybe he could get a closer look—

His heart clenched at that. He and Gajeel were here to kill them. They couldn't come closer. They needed to leave.

There was a loud exclamation from the orange-haired boy as he ripped the...thing...from the blue-haired girl. The rest of them looked worried. Uneasy.

Hope bloomed in his chest for a moment.

But then the white thing was tucked away, _Skaikru's_ faces changed from worry to resolve, and Natsu held his breath.

They'd found the old bridge, a path that Natsu and the rest of the clan used to cross the river when they were hunting or when the kids wanted to explore. Natsu chewed his lip, hoping they'd be too scared to cross. But then the blue haired girl stepped in the water, and Natsu could practically smell the smugness coming from Gajeel.

He let out a shaky breath, dread running cold in his veins as he watched the young, innocent, _ignorant_ , girl practically _skip_ across the water, distantly hearing someone call her name. _Levy_.

Two of the boys followed.

And then the blonde hurried out, and Natsu could see the desperation on her face—the worry.

A lump settled in his throat. Constricting Heavy. He wanted to scream at them to _get. Back._

She stepped out of the water and onto the land— _their_ land—with a wide grin from her apparent success. Natsu whipped to look at Gajeel's readied arm and lust for blood in _One_.

Levy turned to her friends, smile only growing.

 _Two_.

Gajeel's left arm extended to aim, the other bent, readying to release.

 _Three_.

Gajeel launched the spear. A perfect throw. Straight for the girl. No curve.

He knew without a doubt it'd hit it's mark.

A scream and a frozen smile. Eyed wide. Shocked and empty. Forever etched into his mind. His heart plummeted. His stomach churned, horrified at Gajeel and what he had done.

He saw the rest of the group try to get to her, but the orange-haired one stopped them. It looked like he was in physical pain to have to do so.

With how the blonde was digging her nails into him, he wouldn't be surprised if he was.

And then Gajeel threw another spear.

He missed his target by an inch.

Anger roiled in Natsu. He had to stop this.

"Fuck." He growled, unable to contain himself anymore. He leapt from the tree and he grabbed Gajeel by his ankle, yanking him down from his own branch. Gajeel reeled back, whirling on Natsu, his third spear now angled at him.

"What the _fuck_ , Natsu!"

Natsu didn't care. He shoved the point out of his face and yanked the spear away from Gajeel. "This is wrong, Gajeel. They're defenceless."

He quickly grabbed an arrow from his quiver and shot it out to the water.

A warning.

Though, he hoped at this point the message was already clear to the group.

They needed to _get the fuck out._

His hands clenched as he looked back to Gajeel.

Gajeel was _pissed_.

And Natsu knew he was about to make it worse, but he didn't give a flying fuck at the moment.

"You should be _proud_." He made the hatred clear in his snarled words, spitting them at the black-haired male. "You're turning into our Great Chief. Maybe someday _you'll_ kill someone's innocent father as they beg _you_ for mercy, just like he did."

He'd struck a chord with Gajeel, he knew. He didn't need to see the flicker of regret interrupt his gratified, murderous expression.

But then it was gone and Gajeel was advancing on him.

" _Natrona_." Gajeel spat, fist flying towards Natsu. The hit struck his jaw, his head snapping to the side, body twisting with it from the force.

He could already feel the bruise forming and metal rolling over his tongue.

He stood, shocked for a moment, before spitting at the ground and turning to look at Gajeel, tongue poking the inside of his cheek in frustration.

Natsu stayed expressionless, no pain or fear, as he met Gajeel's glare head on.

"I may be a traitor, but at least I'm not a mindless follower of a dictator. You _know_ these people aren't dangerous. You know they're innocent." He squared his shoulders and ignored the throbbing in his jaw.

"They're _Skaikru_ , Salamander," Gajeel argued, hand flying to the sky, "they've been living in the _stars_! They ain't fucking innocent and I'm gonna prove it." He turned his back on Natsu, took a few steps, then stopped, looking over his shoulder.

"Though I doubt you'll still be alive to see I'm right," he spat, letting out a humourless laugh before taking off in the direction of their home, not once looking back.

Natsu never expected anything less from Gajeel.

He turned to face Levy, absently scratched at his face, and winced.

He really was an idiot sometimes.

 _So much for never stepping down_ , he thought, frustrated.

But he couldn't have stopped himself.

These people were helpless, their knowledge of this world limited, as was his of theirs. They didn't know any better. That didn't mean they should be killed for it.

He turned back to the water just as they disappeared into the safety of the trees.

 _Good_ , he thought, _flee_.

He looked around, spotted some comfrey plants, and grabbed a few on his way to the girl. Gajeel was a good shot, but he'd been a fair distance away when he'd thrown the spear. With any luck it wouldn't have gone all the way through and she'd still stand a chance.

He dropped to his knees next to her, taking care to not pull out the spear as he moved his hand under her small body. He sighed in relief as he felt only clammy skin, no trace of the spear or blood. He lay her back down, double checking for blood on his fingers, before he moved to her wrist to check for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there.

He couldn't believe it.

With a quick prayer to _Pramheda_ , Natsu gripped the spear around and took a deep breath before he pulling it straight out, quickly and carefully.

He heard a sharp intake of breath followed by a pained groan, and his head snapped to her face. He froze for a brief moment at the sight of her eyes open, the terror in them unnerving. Her lip quivered, tears falling from her eyes in silent horror, the pain too much for her to speak.

"It's okay," he reassured—in english—dropping the spear and reaching for her hand. He worked quickly, pressing leaves into the wound, giving her hand a gentle squeeze at her soft whimper. "I'm Natsu _kom Trigeda_. I'm here to help." She barely reacted, either confused at the use of _Trigedasleng_ , or she just wasn't processing his words. She was scared and in pain, and he was going to do his best to help her.

He placed pressure on her wound to stop the bleeding..

He bit his lip, worried.

He couldn't move her on his own, not without risking her injury getting worse, and he didn't want to leave her in case she wasn't there when he returned.

He wasn't just worried about the wild animals.

He watched as the girl's eyes closed and muscles went slack. Though he felt slightly guilty, he was grateful she wouldn't be awake and in pain. He could've taken on Gajeel and stopped this.

But he had been a coward.

He could leave her, go back home and deny Gajeel's accusations, which he knew Gajeel was making to Acnologia. He could say he just wanted to make sure the girl was dead, but nobody would buy it. Even if it were the truth, Acnologia was looking for a fight. He was looking for blood. He wouldn't want Natsu to be innocent.

Natsu ran his hands through his hair, frustrated. He couldn't think properly. He needed to figure something out. He needed to survive. He'd been doing it all his life. It was the one thing he was good at. So what was he supposed to do?

 _Protect those who cannot protect themselves, Natsu._

Igneel's words always crept back. He knew what the right thing to do was.

But _how_ was he supposed to do it?

With a deep breath, Natsu tried to calm his racing thoughts. There was a logical solution to this.

He spotted his quiver and he grabbed it, ripping the cloth he kept tied around it and wrapping it around her small frame to cover the wound best he could to apply a bit of extra pressure to it.

Natsu didn't typically work with the healers—he only knew the basics in case he got hurt and was by himself—but he couldn't help but feel a bit proud of his handy work. In any other case he would just go see Porlyusica for help. That wasn't an option at the moment though...obviously.

He slung his quiver with its remaining arrows over his shoulder as he tugged lightly on the makeshift bandage to make sure it would hold. When it did, he slid his hands under the girl and hoisted her up in his arms.

He could only hope that he would be able to hold the injury steady long enough to get her somewhere safe.

He adjusted his hold, making sure she was secure, and looked out at the lake in front of him. He was doing the right thing.

Right?

If he didn't bring the girl to them, she would probably die. He couldn't count on the others coming back for her, and it felt wrong to just leave her.

But thoughts of his friends and the kids from home plagued his mind. He couldn't leave them. Some of them didn't have parents anymore. He'd be abandoning them.

Maybe he could go back after bringing the girl back. He could talk to Acnologia, could beg him to believe him.

Taking a deep breath, Natsu took a step forward, foot hitting the water.

He could only hope he wouldn't regret this.

* * *

 _Trigedasleng-English_

 _Vieda (vay-da)- Invaders_

 _Trigeda (tree-ged -duh)- Woods Clan_

 _Skaikru (sky-crew)- Sky people_

 _Frag emo op (fe-rag em-oh ah-p) → Kill them all_

 _Trigedakru (tree-ged-duh-crew )- People of the woods clan_

 _Natrona (nat-runna ) → Traitor_

 _Pramheda (präm-head-da) → First commander_

 _Kom (come) → From/of the_


	3. Revenge Isn't Justice

_Woah this was longer than I planned-way over. This is almost twice the amount of chapter one lmao but anyways, here you guys go! We're back to Lucy's POV now and things are escalating quickly!_

 _Don't forget to leave a review! :)_

* * *

Chapter 3: Revenge Isn't Justice

* * *

" _Levy, I don't know what to do," Lucy cried as she kicked her bed, frustrated. "Don't the people deserve to know they're going to die in three months?"_

Lucy was fucking _terrified._ Old memories ate at her, her stomach in knots while the rest of her body felt numb. If she had just kept her mouth shut, then maybe Levy...

 _Levy._

Broken. Bleeding. _Dying._

Her breathing was haggard and heavy, her mind a jumbled mess with her thoughts disconnected and running rampant. They had somehow made it back to the camp, she surmised after looking up and seeing the dropship. She stumbled forward a few steps with tears freely flowing down her face, distorting her vision. She moved her hand to wipe the tears from her face and grimly realized that she was shaking.

A broken cry ripped from her throat as she hunched over as she felt her chest constrict. Her hands moved to grip her hair in an unsuccessful attempt to regain her composure, her thoughts and emotions completely overwhelmed by guilt and fear.

It was all her fault.

Levy was only on the ground because of _her_. Lucy had confided in her and told her about her mother's plan to let the people of the Ark know that it was dying. She never even thought to consider the possibility someone could overhear them.

Lucy clutched the bracelet on her wrist, thoughts of her mother and her pointless death running through her mind as her stomach lurched up to her throat. Maybe if she tried to stop her mother, tried to convince her that she had been _wrong_ , maybe she'd still be alive, maybe Levy and Lucy would still be in space where it was safe. At least, safer than the ground.

But her mom _wasn't_ wrong. The people _did_ deserve to know.

And they never would.

She could hear voices getting closer, her body still bent over with her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. She had to stay strong.

Or, at least, look it.

With great amount effort and the little energy she had left, Lucy stood up, back straight, wiping away the tears that still fell from her face.

"What the hell happened?"

Jellal.

She wanted to laugh. Of _course_ Jellal would be the one doing the questioning. It was only natural for the kids to look up to him after all; he _was_ technically an adult and they were just a bunch of adolescent criminals who were sent down to save the lives of the innocent.

"We're not alone," she breathed out, staring him dead on. She saw his eyes widen, shock and confusion appearing on his face. There were mutters coming from all around her at her words, and she could hear them try to figure out what she was talking about. "There are survivors. Levy, she..." she trailed off. She couldn't say it. It would only make it too real—too painful.

"She got hit." She heard Loke finish and she gave him a half smile out of thanks. Her breath hitched at the look on his face—eyes red and jaw tense. He was trying to be strong, but she could tell that he was breaking down just like the rest of them.

Her ears picked up the sounds of whimpering and her heart broke as she turned her head to see Jet and Droy with tears running down their cheeks, staring at the ground with an arm wrapped around each other. She felt her tears come back—though she doubted they even stopped in the first place—at the sight. They loved Levy just as much as she did, maybe even more.

"We need to go back for her. She could still be alive." It wasn't a question—Lucy needed backup. It was true they didn't know what was out there, but there was no way was she leaving Levy for dead. "You _have_ to come with us, Jellal. You have to help us." Her voice cracked at the end, her words filled with pleading and desperation.

Lucy hated to ask him, she really did.

But he had a gun, and Levy was more important than her personal feelings.

She could see the pain, the conflict, in his eyes. He didn't know Levy, _hell_ , he didn't even really know _her._ There was no reason for him to help her. More importantly, they now had more life-threatening issues to worry about, like the fact that there are survivors who potentially wanted to kill them all. The crowd started to raise their voices and she could tell panic was starting to settle in with everyone and she was slightly surprised it didn't happen sooner.

"No," Jellal stated, voice firm, "it's a bad idea. We'd only get ourselves hurt— _killed_. We need a plan; you need to think this through, princess." His eyes we're focused on her as he crossed his arms in resolve.

It's not like she expected him to say _yes_.

But it still hurt.

"We need to build a wall," he shouted as he turned to the crowd of teens surrounding them, "make a defence to keep them out." She wanted to yell, to scream at him to stop being such an _idiot_ , but he _wasn't._ A wall was a good idea. She could admit that. It would hopefully keep the grounders at bay, make it known they weren't welcome. But right now, to her, it didn't matter.

Nothing mattered except saving her friend, and she'd be damned if she stayed to build a _wall_ when she could be saving a _life_.

"What if it was Wendy?" she demanded, hands moving to her hips as she took a few determined steps forward, mustering up a look she hoped was intimidating. She had to look in control. His face contorted to one of complete shock and she saw his jaw clench, his hands curl into balls. His features changed to one of anger as he strode towards her, and for a moment, she was _scared_. She stood her ground, however, not backing down from his towering frame. She knew she made him think twice, that he _might_ change his mind, because the reality of the situation started to sink in, she could see it in his expression, the way his body was tense.

She could only hope to God that he did, because she needed him.

"But it's not," his voice was low, tall frame looming over hers, "it's _not_ Wendy. I don't know Levy, she's not my only responsibility. And if I can save ninety-nine lives over one, I'm going to." She crumpled at his words, shoulders shaking as she held back her tears.

Her teeth chewed the inside of her cheek, not knowing what to say. Because he was right, Levy was one life out of a hundred. She didn't matter to him.

But Lucy couldn't help but hate him for it anyway.

His eyes softened as he looked at her, his hands moving to grip her shoulders, "I'm sorry, Lucy. I just can't risk it. And neither should you." Yanking her arms away from him she ignored the look of surprised on his face and turned on her heel before storming off, not caring what he had to say. She heard someone call her name, but she didn't care. She was already a few steps into the dropship with the hope that she would find a weapon, _anything,_ hidden away somewhere.

She was saving her friend. She could bring herself to care if she got hurt in the process.

"Damnit." Her legs collapsed as soon as she got inside and away from everyone's prying eyes, her body hitting the floor. Sobs tore through her, chest tight and her back ached as she struggled to breathe. She moved her body until she was leaning against a wall and she brought her knees close, wrapping shaky arms around them.

She muffled her scream with the crook of her arm, frustration clawing its way out. She should have done better, done _more_ , to protect Levy, to protect everyone. But she _didn't_. And now she was lost, not knowing what to do, how to save her friend or hell, save _anyone_ for that matter.

A scream reached her ears, her head snapping to the dropship entrance with fear.

 _Were the grounders here?_

She could feel her heart rate pick up, hear and feel the pounding of blood as it moved through her body. She didn't want to step outside, not sure what was waiting for her. Her whole body was shaking, nerves all over the place as she stood, paralyzed.

Don't be a coward, Lucy, she thought, slowly standing up while using the wall as support for her still shaking body.

But then she heard someone scream.

They screamed Levy's name.

Lucy bolted, the fear being replaced by adrenaline as her legs moved without her telling them too, her thoughts focused on one thing, and that thing just happened to be in the arms of a grounder with _pink_ hair. If she wasn't so focused on her friend she would've thought that strange, but she let the thought slide, eyes moving to focus on the blue, _blood stained,_ hair of her best friend. Her hands jumped to her mouth, heart plummeting at the sight.

"Levy!" Jet and Droy raced to the grounder, taking her small frame into their arms, and he _let them_.

 _Why_? Why would he just _let_ them have her after trying to kill them?

She saw them carry her to the dropship, Wendy following close behind.

"Who the hell are you?" Jellal's voice boomed, gun aimed at the grounder's head. Lucy saw the grounder's eyes focused on the barrel of the gun, eyes narrowed. He'd probably never seen one before, let alone know what it was. He didn't say anything, just took a step back with his arms reaching behind his back slowly.

Arrows.

Lucy stepped forward until she stood beside Jellal, his eyes flicking to her briefly. "Get back princess, it's dangerous."

"I'm fine, you have a gun, remember?" She saw his eyebrow quirk, gazed focused on the grounder in front of them who seemed to be studying his surroundings.

He was looking for a way out.

"We can't let him leave."

Jellal didn't need the reminder. He tightened his grip on the gun as he shifted forward, "I said, who _the hell_ are you?"

She saw the grounder's chest heave as he let out a breath, eyes darting quickly around their crash site. His hand latched onto one of his arrows, ready to fight, and Lucy knew what they had to do.

" _Jellal,"_ she barely got the word out, eyes jumping to the grounder as he quickly grabbed his bow and attached an arrow on it, but he wasn't as quick as Jellal.

A deafening bang rang out and she threw her hands up to cover her ears wincing and shutting her eyes on reflex. She heard a grunt and opened her eyes to see the grounder on the ground clutching his leg where she could see blood seeping out from his pants.

"Tie him up!" Jellal ordered after a quick second, feet moving quickly toward the grounder, gun aimed at his head once again. Lucy followed warily, eyeing the grounder with skepticism and a touch of fear. Their eyes met, and she saw something like recognition flash through him, and that put all her doubts to rest.

He _had_ been there. He was the one who fired the arrow.

Loke came up to them, rope in hand with Cana and a few others in tow as they held the grounder down and tied his hands behind his back.

"We're going to have a chat, me and you." A shiver ran through Lucy's body at the sound of Jellal's voice, cold and dangerous. His eyes flicked to hers as he gestured for the others to pick the grounder up.

"We need to secure him in the dropship." It was a question, one she quickly answered as she ran off to the dropship, an unsettled feeling hitting her in her gut. She was _nauseous._

 _What was Jellal going to do?_

She spotted Wendy as she made her way through the door, ripping cloths into long strands, most likely for bandages. Her eyes swept the room until she spotted blue hair, her body freezing at the sight. She wasn't ready to face Levy, to see how badly she was injured, to feel the hopelessness of not being able to save her once again. So she kept walking until she reached the ladder on the main floor, climbing up until she reached the second level.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy ran her hands down her face then through her hair as she tried to regain her composure, her _sanity_.

What were they doing? Sure, they were all criminals, but they weren't inherently bad. They weren't these people, these _grounders._ A foreboding feeling settled in her stomach as she found a perfect spot to tie up the grounder. She was scared, scared that they were turning into their parents, into something they _weren't._

The grounder would have to stand the whole time, she briefly realized, but this would be the best option. But was this the _right_ thing to do? Maybe the grounder would cooperate, would tell them about this world they unknowingly landed in.

She snorted at her own thoughts, they had _shot_ him, why would he tell them anything? She

found round hooks on either side of the small room and attached rope to them, hoping it would be enough. The sounds of footsteps and voices became louder and clearer, letting her know people were entering the dropship.

A thought at the back of her mind still nagged at her, still wondered _why_ the grounder would bring Levy back, and, from the looks of it, he tried to _save_ her. She tried to push the thought away, but she couldn't.

Maybe they were generalizing, maybe not _all_ grounders were bad.

A grunt sounded from near the ladder and she could hear heavy breathing as suddenly a head of blue popped up and Jellal climbed out, reaching back down before he pulled the grounder up and hauling him the rest of the way, face slamming against the floor with a grunt. Jellal grabbed him under his shoulders, picking him up, and Loke followed up from the ladder quickly, eyes landing on Lucy and he made his way over to her.

"You okay?" His hand rested on her arm, gentle and unsure.

Her eyes darted to the ladder at sounds of more people coming up, watching Jet and Droy appear, a jolt of pain hitting her heart at the sight. "Yeah, fine," mouth forming into a half smile, barely even managing that, she stepped away and to the ladder, not looking back at the group.

She didn't want to see it.

She _knew_ Jet and Droy would want revenge, to do to that grounder what he did to Levy, so she made her way back down to the main level and approached the young blue haired girl slowly. Wendy turned when she heard her footsteps, giving Lucy an encouraging look. "I think she's going to be fine," she said, washing the dirt off of Levy's face.

Relief washed over Lucy at Wendy's words, her shoulders finally feeling light and her back no longer aching as much. She trusted Wendy; after all, her mother was a doctor on the Ark and Lucy was sure that Wendy didn't spend thirteen years under a floor not learning anything.

It had always been a point of curiosity for Lucy—how a doctor on the Ark was able to hide a pregnancy so well.

Lucy's eyes scanned Levy's body, landing on the bandages wrapped around her chest and shoulder. She swallowed hard, the reality of how close the spear came to shattering Levy's collarbone sinking in. It could have been _a lot_ worse.

She grabbed Levy's hand, listening to her unsteady breathing, saw the blood on her clothes and she couldn't take it anymore. "Come get me when she wakes up," she commanded, turning on her heel and heading back up the ladder. She would hopefully be able to help with the grounder situation, unlike the one she was leaving. In all honesty, she would rather deal with a bloodthirsty grounder than her dying friend.

"How many of you are there?" She heard Jellal before she saw him as she hoisted herself up onto the floor. He was standing dangerously close to the grounder, a knife twirling in his hand, she assumed to serve as intimidation.

The grounder didn't say anything, eyes landing on her instead. She shifted under his gaze, unsettled by the intensity of his stare. She moved closer to Jellal, eyes never breaking contact. "Has he said anything?"

Jellal turned his head, her eyes snapping to meet his. "Not a word. I bet he doesn't even speak English."

Lucy chewed her lip, looking back at the grounder in curiosity. In reality, it would make sense if he didn't speak or understand English—it had been three hundred years, after all. The human race on the ground could have reverted to a different common language, like French, German, or even Dutch. There were many possibilities, and for them to just assume that they would speak English was idiotic.

"How can we get him to talk, then?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Jellal held up his knife, raising a brow along with it as he stared at her, the look on his face obvious.

They would do whatever it takes.

Shaking her head, she grabbed his arm, lowering it. "No," she stated, firmly, "we're not doing that. We're not animals."

"No, but if we don't get answers from him then we'll be animal _food_." His implication was clear and Lucy swallowed.

"We'll find another way." Her mind was in turmoil, not knowing what to do. She didn't want to sink to the grounder's level, they were better than that. On the other hand, though, she was so _angry,_ so scared. She wanted him to pay for what he did, even if he wasn't the one who threw the spear.

But this—this wasn't right; he tried to save Levy, didn't he?

"Well until you can figure that out, Lucy, we're doing this my way," Jellal looked back to the grounder, tugging his arm away from Lucy and bringing the knife up to the grounder's face, "I'm assuming you know what this is, and if you don't start talking soon," he pushed the knife up against the grounder's throat, drawing a small amount of blood, "things will start to get a lot worse for you."

Lucy could feel her heart pounding, not knowing what to do. She looked around the room, spotting Loke, who looked as equally as distraught as she was, and Jet and Droy who stood with their arms crossed, scowls on their faces as they looked at the grounder in disgust, obviously wanting Jellal to hurt him.

Lucy took a deep breath and started to pace around the room, twirling her bracelet round and round on her wrist.

"Let's try this again—who are you?"

Nothing.

The grounder tugged at his restraints, his muscles contracting as he scowled at the group, eyes searching the room and she could see a hint of curiosity appear on his face. Narrowing her eyes, Lucy stepped up to him, ignoring Jellal's protests and Loke, whose hand was suddenly on her shoulder. She glanced at him and saw the worry etched on his face.

"I'm fine. He's tied up, remember?" She gave him a small smile before refocusing her attention on the grounder, eying his hair briefly. "You remember me, don't you?" She thanked whatever god was listening for not letting her voice crack. Because on the inside she was trembling, the events still all too fresh. But she had to do this. For Levy.

The grounder just looked at her, ceasing his movements. His eyes bore into hers, dark and dangerous, but she saw beyond that, saw something...curious. But more than that, she saw guilt. She hoped she did, anyway.

"Why did you save Levy?" His jaw tensed, but gave no other indication that he recognized what she was saying.

Maybe he didn't; maybe he just recognized Levy's name from her shouting.

She sighed, breaking eye contact. She couldn't look into his eyes anymore, they were too intense, too... _something_. She couldn't figure it out, figure _him_ out.

"I know you're not all bad," she started again, holding out a hand to Jellal to stop him from telling her to leave, "you tried to save my friend. And that's enough for me to have a small hope that we can all get out of this situation in one piece, but you need to talk. You need to answer our questions."

When he didn't move, didn't even flinch at her words, she sighed. He didn't understand her. It was pointless. _All_ of it was pointless.

"We should just let him go," she suggested, defeated. He wasn't going to tell them anything—not like this.

"What the hell are you on, Lucy?" Jet exclaimed, voice angry as Loke rushed over to hold him back from doing something stupid.

"Lucy," came Jellal's voice, his hand grabbing her arm gently as he spoke to her in a low, soft voice, "you should go. You don't have to be here for this—go see how Levy's doing."

Taken aback by his suddenly kind gesture, she just nodded, walking over to the hatch and climbing down the ladder without another word. He was right; she didn't have to bet there, she didn't _want_ to be there anymore.

"Wendy?" She called out as she walked over to where the two blue-haired girls were.

"Hey Lucy," Wendy greeted softly, sitting on the floor, with her back against a wall.

"How's she doing?" Lucy concentrated on looking at Levy's face, not able to looked at her bandages. She bit her lip at the site, her guilt clawing its way back, gripping at her throat.

But Wendy didn't get a chance to answer.

Levy groaned, eyes opening slightly and Lucy wanted to throw her arms around her and hug her and cry and yell at her for making her worry.

But she didn't. She settled for grabbing Levy's hand, giving it a tight squeeze with a watery smile.

"Morning sunshine," she tried to sound cheerful, as if she hadn't been speared and left to die only a few hours ago. "How are you feeling?"

Levy blinked, seemingly confused as to where she was, before she gasped, eyes opening wide and she tried to sit up, only stopped by Lucy's quick reflexes and Wendy who had jumped to her feet the moment Levy made a sound.

"Natsu," she rasped and Wendy fetched her some water at her creaky voice, "where—did he bring me here?"

Lucy bit the inside of her cheek, not wanting to jump to any conclusions. "Who's Natsu?" She gave Levy's hand another encouraging squeeze.

"He's—he saved me. Natsu _kom_ — _kom Trige-Trigeda_." Levy coughed and Wendy gently tipped Levy's head up to give her a small drink of water. Levy coughed again, face contorting to one of pain. Lucy looked to Wendy, lips pursed together in worry. "His hair was pink." Lucy saw Levy scrunch her nose at the thought, and Lucy knew that Levy was thinking how strange it was. Lucy's mind went somewhere else, however.

It had to be him.

"He spoke to you?" Her voice was shaky, head turned to look up the hatch leading to the next level of the dropship.

"Yeah, but I don't—what's wrong, Lucy?" Levy's voice was confused, concerned. Lucy wanted to laugh at the thought of Levy being worried for her at the moment.

"I'll be right back."

She ran to the ladder, climbing up fast and uneasy, thoughts running wild.

If the grounder— _Natsu_ —could speak English, if he helped Levy, what was he playing at? Why was he letting them hurt him, tie him up?

"Lucy?" Jellal questioned, turning to look at her in surprise, "I thought you went to check on Levy?"

Her eyes darting to his hand, seeing red.

There was blood on his knife.

"Stop!" She yelled, racing over to him and grabbing the knife out of his hand before looking at Natsu, eyes spotting red on his hand. "Get him out of the restraints, now." she demanded, tossing the knife to the other side of the room before she grabbed a nearby cloth and wrapped it around his injured hand, applying pressure to it.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Lucy?" Jellal exclaimed, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her away from Natsu.

"He's not the enemy!" she cried, pushing her way out of Jellal's arms. "He _helped_ Levy, don't you get that?" She was in hysteric, breathing quick as her chest heaved as panic tried to take over and she couldn't stop yelling at them. They were ready to torture someone—someone who didn't _really_ deserve it. They were no better than the grounders they feared.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

She wanted to scream at him to stop being so ignorant, but she held it in, turning back to Natsu and untying one of the ropes holding him. "His name is Natsu," she started, flicking her eyes to meet Natsu's, his eyes softer now as he stared back.

"How do you know that?" Jellal snapped, grabbing her hands away from the restraints.

"Because Levy told me. She's awake, and she trusts him. So I do too."

A chuckle escaped Natsu, the sound deep and raw. "Natsu _kom Trigeda._ It means 'of the woods' in English. More simply put, the woods clan."

She finished untying the restraint when Jellal release her hands, not saying a word. She trusted him not to hurt them. He had most likely been testing them, see what kind of people they were.

She didn't know what his motives were, or even if she really _should_ trust him, but she was going to find out.


	4. This Is Earth

_**A/N: Yay! New chap! Sorry for the wait, hope you guys enjoy! Don't forget to leave a review :)**_

* * *

Chapter 4: This Is Earth

* * *

Natsu couldn't stop the bubbling laughter that escaped him, amused beyond belief.

These people were ridiculous; fighting between themselves in front of their enemy while making _wrong_ and _dangerous_ assumptions. If he wanted to, Natsu could easily break out of the restraints and kill them all—except maybe the one with the strange weapon. His leg throbbed as he glanced at the weapon, his adrenaline starting to wear off and the pain started to kick in in full gear.

"Lucy, we can't just let him walk around here free. He's still a threat and a very dangerous one at that." Jellal sounded exasperated, his words coming out sharp but tired. But he was right—Natsu was a threat. "We should at least keep his hands tied," Jellal finished, shooting him a glared filled with distrust before flicking to exasperation as he shifted his gaze to the blonde, Lucy. As much as Natsu thought Jellal was a dick, Natsu could tell that he was smart. And being smart would keep him alive.

"I'm not an idiot, Jellal," Lucy huffed before pulling his arms behind his back carefully. She probably didn't want to injure his hand any further, "but we can't treat him like some kind of animal." Natsu didn't really understand _how_ Lucy was able to trust him so quickly. The only thing she was basing her trust on was the word of a friend, and that could lead her down a very slippery and deadly slope. Natsu sighed, letting her tie his hands together while keeping his gaze trained on Jellal. Just because they trusted him now, or, at least, didn't think he'd _murder_ everyone, didn't mean he had to think the same.

"Can you go get Wendy?" Lucy suddenly demanded as she leads him over to the corner of the room to sit down, "his wounds need to be looked at," a jolt ran up his leg with every step, like a sword cutting into his muscles over and over.

"Fine, but she's not allowed up here alone, understood?" Natsu narrowed his eyes, wondering who Wendy was. She must be someone important to them, or someone weak.

Jellal paused at the opening, staring Natsu down with an obvious threat in his eyes. If he so much as touched Lucy, Natsu knew Jellal wouldn't hesitate to tie him back up and shoot him with his weapon. And Natsu didn't fancy dying, not when he could still help his people.

"I'm sorry," he heard a soft voice mumble from his side and he turned to look at Lucy, head low and hands curled into fists in her lap in her seat next to him. "We were rash—but we-we _had_ to be." She shook her head as if trying to clear her mind—and she probably was.

"None of us asked to be here. But we _are,_ and we plan on surviving. Because this is our home now too." Her eyes rose to meet his, the intensity behind them throwing him off for a split second. He didn't expect to see that from the same girl who had been hysterical and confused for the majority of the time he had been in their ship. "I don't regret it now, but I _am_ sorry," her lips quirked and Natsu suddenly felt curious about her, having originally written her off as weak, "though that doesn't mean that we fully trust you either."

He found himself smiling, lips pulling upwards slowly as she stared at her. He figured Jellal was the one in charge, but maybe this girl would show him up. "I know. I'm sorry too," his voice was soft and low as he spoke, watching her eyes widen before quickly averting her gaze again. He felt a soft puff of air on his arm as they heard Jellal return with someone he assumed to be Wendy. His eyes took in the young girl, blue hair tied up in pigtails and brown eyes staring at him with both fear and determination.

His lips turned upward into a warm smile in an invitation, an attempt to show he didn't plan on hurting her. He didn't plan on hurting anyone unless they hurt him again. Even then, it would only be in self-defence. He didn't want to hurt anyone.

His grin only widened when he saw her mouth move into a shy smile of her own as she kneeled to look at his leg. His eyes followed her, watching her face flash to one of horror at the wound before turning back to resolve, tugging on the fabric that was tied just above his knee. It was something the oranged-haired one had tied onto him before bringing him up. She grabbed the knife that laid forgotten to the side, cutting his pants open carefully to look at his wound.

Her eyes closed briefly as she left out a long breath before opening them again, focused on his wounds, "Lucy, can you go get Cana and ask her to look for something strong enough to work as a disinfectant? And tweezers. I'll also need something to elevate his leg to slow the blood flow," Wendy's eyes darted to where he had been tied up and her nose scrunched in disgust, "he's already lost a lot of blood." Natsu was amazed by how calm Wendy was being, not expecting her to take charge like she was. She could only have been twelve or thirteen— most of their healers only started to become experienced enough to do something like this when they were around sixteen.

Lucy dashed from the room in search of whoever Cana was and the orange haired one followed her, leaving him with Wendy and Jellal. The other occupants of the room were left sulking in a corner shooting glares his way. He recognized them from the lake—they were the ones who followed Levy into the water, nearly getting themselves killed. His lips curled up in annoyance at their glares. He had tried to save them—they didn't understand that, he knew. But they would have died if he wasn't there.

Wendy grabbed a cloth and dipped it into a bucket of water she had brought with her, ringing out the excess water before carefully wiping away the blood surrounding his wound. Jellal came closer, hovering behind Wendy with arms crossed as he kept a close eye on the both of them. Natsu met his eyes, being sure to keep his expression blank.

"Can I ask a question?"

Jellal seemed surprised at his voice and Wendy halted her movements briefly before continuing as if nothing had happened. Jellal shifted, rolling his shoulders back and making himself look taller before answering, "you can ask, doesn't mean I'll answer."

Natsu let out a short laugh, "well that makes sense," his eyes shifted down to the weapon in Jellal's pants, lips pursing together and eyebrows furrowing. "What is that thing?"

"Huh," he heard Jellal breath out, something like amusement coming from him, and if Natsu had to guess, the weapon was common knowledge for their people, "it's called a gun. Sort of like your bow and arrow I suppose," Jellal pulled it from his waistband, holding it for him to see clearly. "All I have to do is pull this trigger, and a bullet—a small, round, metal object—flies out at whatever I'm aiming at." He pointed the gun at Natsu's head, a smirk forming on his face, "so you better behave, grounder."

Natsu let out a breath, eyes wide as he stared at the gun. He still didn't quite understand how it worked, but he knew it was powerful. He had never seen such a thing, and he decided that maybe coming to see Skaikru wasn't such a stupid idea.

"Do you have more of them?"

Jellal slipped the gun back into his waistband, smirk still plastered on his face, "wouldn't you like to know."

Natsu narrowed his eyes, not sure if that was a yes or a no. Jellal was good at hiding what he was thinking and feeling, something that was probably natural to him from the looks of it. Natsu was jealous of that—he had to work for _years_ until he was finally able to hide his feelings properly, and he knew he still had room for improvement.

His eyes snapped to the opening of the floor, seeing a head of gold appear. Lucy climbed up off the ladder and made her way over to the group.

"Here you go, Wendy, a bucket for his leg, some booze Cana somehow managed to sneak onto the dropship—don't ask me how she wouldn't say—" her voice was airy, as if trying to hold back a laugh, though Natsu didn't have a clue why, "and I found a first aid kit," Lucy kneeled down beside the blue-haired girl, taking each item out of the bucket as she described it before moving the bucket to his injured leg. She raised her eyes to meet his, and he saw the same hesitation and fear that lingered from before.

"I need you to lift up your leg," he couldn't help the small laugh that escaped him. Her voice was strong, not showing any of the emotions he could see clearly in her eyes.

There was something oddly familiar about her, he mused. He wasn't sure if it was her appearance or her behaviour—it could even be both. But he felt like he knew her, and that left a knot in his stomach, twisting at his guts.

With a grunt—because his leg _did_ hurt more than he expected—he raised his leg long enough for her the slip the bucket underneath his foot before promptly lowering it, face twisted in pain.

Maybe this weapon of theirs—this _gun_ —could kill Acnologia.

"Okay, this is going to sting, but it's necessary to prevent infection. I'll count to three if you want?" Wendy's soft voice explained, and he turned his gaze to meet hers, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. This girl really was brave.

"I'm fine. Just do it." He couldn't afford to show them any more weaknesses, after all.

Lucy shifted to give Wendy more room, grabbing something from the box she called a first aid kit. It was shiny with two ends sprouting from a single part, and Natsu couldn't help but be in awe of how all of these things seemed so _normal_ to them.

"I can take the bullet out, Wendy," Lucy offered kindly, placing a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. It seemed as if Wendy appreciated it, nodding before pouring some liquid onto a cloth.

Now that he thought about it, Wendy looked exhausted. He didn't know her, but he didn't have to to be able to tell. Her shoulders were sagging, her eyes were slightly red—almost as if she had been crying—and her movements were getting even slower and more sluggish than when she first came up to help him.

Out of nowhere, a sharp stinging pain was in his leg, jolting up through the rest of his body and he could only bite the inside of his cheek to stop his gasp of pain. Wendy was wiping his injury with the cloth, adding some of the liquid to it when she looked unsatisfied.

"Jellal, can you hold him down when I take out the bullet?" Lucy questioned, pouring some of the liquid onto the shiny object. He eyed it, not trusting it in the slightest if she was putting the strange—and _painful_ —liquid on it.

"Anything for you, princess," his voice was teasing, Natsu could tell, but he wasn't sure why. as Lucy a princess? None of this was making _sense_. He was in too much pain to think clearly, his mind becoming foggy and light. Wendy was right, he _had_ lost a lot of blood.

"Okay, I think it's cleaned well enough. The bullet didn't go very deep, thanks to my brother's lousy aim," Wendy grinned up at Jellal who had moved behind him, and Natsu was once again surprised. He would never have guessed they were siblings, their demeanours completely different from one another. But then again, they both seemed to be very strong-willed people.

"It's okay for you to take it out now, Lucy, just make sure to clean and wrap the wound again with clean bandages once you're done. I'm going to go check on Levy," standing up, Wendy gave Natsu an unsure smile before turning and heading down the ladder. He hoped she got some sleep. He was tired himself, and was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Well, any time now, Lucy. I want to ask the grounder some more questions." Natsu just rolled his eyes at Jellal, tired of his high and mighty act. Natsu was certain if they fought hand to hand he could easily take him down—just maybe not right now.

"Fuck off, Jellal," Lucy took a deep breath just as Natsu felt Jellal's hands press down on his shoulders, and for a second Natsu wondered how much this would hurt. He let out a shuddery breath, trying to prepare himself. It was probably just like dealing with an arrow wound, so he tried to steady himself.

Lucy moved her hands, one resting gently on his leg beside his wound, the other poised above it and ready to take out the bullet, shiny object poised and ready. He gulped, eyes focused on it, realizing Lucy was planning on sticking it in his leg. He shifted his gaze to Lucy, and she stayed still for a moment, seemingly to contemplate the best way to go about it before—

"Fuck," he hissed, clamping down on his cheek with his teeth to stop his scream of pain as she dug into his leg, swiftly pulling out after a second. Something clanged to the ground, Lucy's breathing heavy and eyes wide as she bit down on her lip.

His eyes caught something silver underneath red on the ground beside them, and he assumed it to be the bullet Jellal talked about. He couldn't understand how something so small could cause so much pain.

His let his head fall back as a weight left his shoulders, seeing Jellal move back in front of him and staying close to Lucy. He breathing was shaky for a bit before becoming steady, and he shut his eyes in relief.

"Okay, I'm going to clean out the wound one more time with alcohol before wrapping it to apply pressure," Lucy explained, and he peeked open an eye to see her dabbing a cloth with the liquid— _alcohol_ —and wiping his leg one down. He was used to the sting now and after taking the bullet out, this felt like nothing.

He could feel himself sweating, his hair falling down in front of his eyes and he felt like his brain was bouncing off of his skull over and over again. Blowing out some air to try to move the hair from his eyes, he looked down at Lucy curiously. "Have you done this before?" His voice cracked, mouth dry and his throat sore.

"Never." She stated, movements careful as she set the cloth down and picked up new ones before slowly starting to wrap his leg, "none of us have—we never needed to before." Her voice was sad, quiet. He couldn't help but wonder what living in the stars was like.

"Then how did Wendy know what to do?" she was the youngest of them so far from what he saw, so it was strange to him that she knew how to do something that no one else did.

"Our mother was a doctor on the Arc, so she taught her some basic stuff. We had a lot of medical books in our quarters that Wendy would read while we were gone," Jellal joined in, something akin to pride sounding in his voice, and Natsu believed that he was. While he didn't know quite what a 'doctor' was, he could only assume it was the equivalent of a healer, and that was something to be proud of.

Lucy hummed at Jellal's words, not in agreement but more like she was curious, which made Natsu wonder about them even more. Before he could ask anything else, she finished wrapping up his leg, standing as soon as she was done and once again averting her gaze.

"Well I'm done here, I'm going to go see if Levy is awake and try to figure out how to explain to everyone what is going on," she sighed, hands running through her long hair, "that is, if I can even figure out what the hell is going on," she let out a humourless laugh before waving to Jellal and heading down the ladder.

Jellal turned to him, arms crossed and eyes narrowed as he stared him down. "What's your plan here?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

Natsu snorted, rolling his eyes at the blue-haired male in front of him. "Even if I had a plan, why would I tell you?" he retorted, shifting in his seat. His leg was still throbbing, though it was considerably less now that the bullet was out, and the stinging sensation was starting to fade

Jellal seemed to be studying him, eyes focused and calculating. Natsu didn't break eye contact, still trying to judge if he could really trust these people if they could work together.

"If you didn't have a plan, you wouldn't have saved Levy after trying to kill her," Jellal reasoned, quirking a brow. Natsu felt bile rise in his throat at the memory, hands and jaw tensing up, briefly glancing to the side in shame.

"I didn't try to kill her _or_ the others." It was a simple statement, and very true, but Natsu knew Jellal would find it hard to believe, something that frustrated him to no end.

"Why should I believe you? Lucy may trust you after finding out you saved her best friend, but Levy's word doesn't mean much to me," Jellal took a step forward, looming over Natsu with his tall frame, eyes glinting with something dangerous, something cold.

Natsu respected that something. Because behind it all, Natsu could see that Jellal cared for his people, and he was doing what he had to to make sure they survived. Just like Natsu.

"I _was_ at the attack," he admitted. "I shot an arrow—but it was a warning. I never wanted to kill innocent people," if Natsu didn't have Jellal's full attention before, he did now. "We were sent after the fire—err, after _this_ fell from the sky. Our chief wasn't fond of invaders." Natsu felt his body heat up as if with flames in rage at the thought of Acnologia. But then fear crept in, and he once again felt doubt at what he was doing.

"We didn't know anyone was down here, we thought that everyone had died in the bombings three hundred years ago," Jellal voiced, moving to lean against a wall, seemingly in thought but still keeping sight of Natsu. Natsu felt like scoffing at that—as if he'd try to make a run for it now.

"Well we're still here, and that's not the point. They won't care about your thoughts on it. The fact is you're here and so are we. And our chief wanted you all dead." Natsu coughed, his throat hurting from talking so much. He needed water.

" _Woda,"_ he rasped, licking his lips only to taste something metallic—blood. "Water," he corrected, having slipped into trigedasleng by accident.

"Oh for fuck—Lucy!" Jellal yelled after making his way to the latch with the ladder.

" _What?"_ He heard a voice call back, one that didn't belong to the blonde.

"Where'd Lucy go?" Jellal demanded, seemingly annoyed with whoever he was talking to.

" _She went to look for some berries or something for us to eat_ — _don't worry Loke went with her, they're staying close to the dropship."_

"Whatever, can you bring me up some water?"

It was quiet for a few moments with Jellal hovering near the ladder impatiently. Natsu looked around the room he was in, not recognizing the material it was made out of or even half of the objects that were there. There was a large square box attached to the wall, some type of rope hanging from it. Not to mention the seats which all seemed to be attached to the ground, ropes hanging off all of them.

A hand appeared in front of him, holding what appeared to be a cup. Natsu shifted his eyes to meet Jellal's, shrugging his shoulders at the man. "Did ya forget my hands are a bit tied up?"

Jellal just rolled his eyes and shoved the cup at his face, pressing it against his lips and tilting it, barely giving Natsu enough time to react and drink the water that was being poured into his mouth. He drank it greedily, coughing slightly when he was done and Jellal removed the cup.

"You good now?" Jellal demanded, sounding annoyed.

Natsu cleared his throat, nodding. He was still a bit thirsty, but he knew it could wait.

"So then why did you come here?" Jellal had his arms crossed, tapping his fingers impatiently. "Why would your chief want us dead before talking to us? We could be useful to him." He was confused, and it was showing clear in his voice. Natsu just sighed, staring him dead on.

"Acnologia barely wants his own people alive, let alone invaders," Natsu clenched his hands, looking away from Jellal. "He kills when he wants, _who_ he wants," he spat, images of his father appearing in his mind. "But he'll never be Commander, he _can't_ be—so he has the next best thing. He has the Commander's loyalty." He paused, debating if he should continue or not, then decided that telling the truth was his best option, "I want to kill him."

Natsu licked his lips, taking a deep breath before meeting Jellal's eyes, wide and shocked, arms having gone limp at his side.

"And I need your help."


	5. May We Meet Again

**:A/N: Oh boy, sorry for taking so long with this update! Life happens, and I'm not even going to bother with excuses.**

 **Also, this is not edited in any way so I'm super sorry about that! I'm going to go back later and edit this and the previous chapter, I'll let you guys know when I do that though- nothing major will change really just grammar and word flow issues.**

 **Hope you like this one though guys, we're starting to speed things up!**

 **Also thank you so much to my friend on tumblr coleymari for making a beautiful edit for this fic, which I have put as the header! You guys can check it out here (remove spaces)**

 **coleymari . tumblr dot com /post/164457567096/land-next-to-me-a-fairy-tail-100-au-by**

* * *

 _Chapter 5: May We Meet Again_

* * *

"Lucy!" a voice called out from behind her and Loke. Lucy turned her head to see Yukino, a quiet girl from Alpha Station-like Lucy-waving to them. Lucy smiled, giving a small wave back as she walked over to the silver-haired girl.

"Hey," Lucy greeted softly, shifted the bag of berries they collected to one shoulder. She wanted to ask Natsu if they were edible, "what's up?"

Yukino twisted her wrist in her hand, shifting her weight from one leg to the other, "well, what's going on? Everyone is getting pretty antsy."

Lucy chewed the inside of her cheek, not sure what to say. She wasn't even exactly sure what was happening. She gathered that Natsu would help them out, but she also didn't trust the grounder completely just yet.

"For now we know that there are survivors and that they dangerous, but some of them seem to want to get along with us. Natsu saved Levy, so I don't think he wants to hurt us. Jellal is talking to him now, so I'll go find out more and get back to you?" her voice rose a few pitches by the end as she tried to sound reassuring while wanting to know if that was enough for now.

Yukino gave a small nod, accepting the bag of berries Lucy offered after Lucy explained to wait before distributing them before she asked Natsu about them. The three headed back to the dropship, Lucy taking a handful of berries and waving to Loke and Yukino with a smile.

She saw Wendy curled up on a few blankets on the floor near Levy, with Jet and Droy passed out and mouths wide open and snoring in seats near her. A grin appeared on her face at the site, the peaceful looks on their faces refreshing.

With one last glance at the group, Lucy climbed the ladder to where Jellal and Natsu were, hoping that they'd both be in one piece. She felt her eye twitch at the thought. She didn't know either of them very well, but she had a feeling they would clash in the worst way.

" _I want to kill him,"_ Lucy paused when she was near the top of the latch when she heard Natsu's voice, eyes going wide in surprise.

" _And I need your help,"_ her brows furrowed, confusing running through her. She had no idea what they were talking about, and she was even more curious about _who_ it was Natsu wanted to kill.

That didn't mean she was going to agree to this. Whatever _this_ was.

"What the hell is going on?" she demanded before climbing the rest of the way up, setting the berries down carefully to the side.

Jellal turned to look at her, stumbling slightly in surprise at her sudden entrance. She almost took a step back at the intensity and seriousness in his eyes. She never saw him look like that before, catching her off guard.

Natsu didn't say a word, but she could see that his jaw was clenched and his eyes shifted to her, focused and frightening, his body stiff and unmoving.

Lucy huffed at their silence and crossed her arms over her chest while shifting her weight to one leg. She didn't like being left out of something so serious. "Well?"

"Apparently," Jellal's voice broke the silence, laced with dry humour, "Natsu wants our help killing his village's chief."

Lucy's arms dropped, confused and frustrated. It was like they were dropped right into the middle of a war, and her heart twisted. They were just kids-this shouldn't be happening.

"Why would he need our help?" she spoke before she even realized it, Natsu's eyes burning as he stared at her, letting out a low snarl, shoulders rolling back in apparent anger.

"We can't do it alone. He's too powerful, too strong. You have all of... _this,"_ he jutted his chin out, gesturing to...the whole room. Lucy briefly wondered how they reverted to a place where they didn't even know what a light bulb was. "Weapons, knowledge. And besides," he sighed, closing his eyes for a short second, "if you don't help me, he'll kill you anyway."

Lucy sucked in a deep breath, the reality of their situation crashing down on her once again. They needed his help and his knowledge of the ground, and in return, they would have to help him with his revolt. She knew this, but she didn't want to accept it.

"Do you even have a plan?" Lucy asked, still skeptical about Natsu's motivations, but conceding that they would have to work together. Her eyes moved to Jellal, his body angled towards her, but facing Natsu. Jellal's expression was blank, giving her no indication of what he was feeling. Her eyebrows knit together, wondering what was going through his mind before she gave up and turned back to Natsu.

"I want to put the _rightful_ Commander in power. We'll see what happens from there," Natsu stated, shrugging his shoulders as if what he wanted to do wasn't something insane. Lucy just stared at him, mouth opening and closing while she tried to figure out what to say. Her hand moved to scratch her forehead, glancing at Jellal and meeting his eyes briefly. They were narrowed and confused, and he knew more about what was going on than she did.

"The 'rightful Commander?'" Jellal echoed, shoving his hands in his pocket, but not before cracking his knuckles.

Lucy sighed and moved to a seat attached to the wall and grabbed the berries on her way, crossing her arms and throwing one leg over the other. She figured this might take a while and she was getting tired.

"I thought that's who we were talking about?" she questioned, showing the berries to Natsu in her open palm. She had almost forgotten about them until she felt a pang in her stomach, "are these safe to eat?"

Natsu's eyes shifted to her palm, the little dark red berries staining her hand. Natsu nodded, shooting her a grin, his canines visible and sharp looking. She supposed it was only natural for them to be more prominent than her own; grounders probably ate a lot of tough meat, if Natsu's lack of knowledge of technology was anything to go by.

She plopped a few of the berries into her mouth, savouring the slight taste of raspberries. She smiled, small and unintentional. On the Ark, they didn't have a lot of food with different flavours, having to ration all of their supplies; food, water, even _air._ She didn't even know if she was actually tasting raspberries.

"We were talking about my village's chief, Acnologia," Natsu voice cut through her thoughts, startling her. "The Commander is in charge of all of the clans under the coalition, which as of now there are twelve."

"So how come Acnologia isn't Commander if he's so powerful?" Jellal asked, taking a seat beside Lucy and taking a few berries from her hand. She looked to Natsu, wanting to offer him berries as well, but his hands were still tied up and she didn't want to put her hand anywhere near his mouth.

"Because he's not a _Natblida._ It is impossible for the spirit of previous Commander's to choose him," Lucy could tell Natsu was trying to explain, but she still had no idea what he was talking about.

"This isn't making any sense," Jellal stated as if he could read her thoughts. "We don't know your customs or your words. And what the hell do you mean about the Commander's _spirit_?"

Before Natsu could answer, a head popped up at the latch.

"Hey, Lucy," Loke called, words slow and hesitant, "any word on the berries or, you know, what the hell is going on?"

"Oh!" Lucy exclaimed, slapping a hand to her forehead when she remembered why she came up here in the first place. "Yeah, sorry Loke! The berries are safe. As for what's going on…" she trailed off and looked to Jellal who just shrugged and took another berry from her hand. She grumbled and turned to Natsu who was staring at Loke who was half up the opening.

Sighing, she decided to go for a half-truth. "Just tell everyone that everything is going to be fine and that Natsu is going to help us figure this whole 'Earth' thing," Lucy leaned forward to give Loke a reassuring smile, hoping he believed her.

She knew he didn't.

After a pause he nodded and headed back down the ladder, closing the hatch behind him. Lucy felt bad, not being able to explain what was happening-but how could she do that if she didn't know herself?

"So, back to this "spirit" thing," Lucy began, leaning forward in her seat as she stared Natsu down, "what exactly does that mean?"

Natsu quirked an eyebrow at them, tongue sticking out to lick his lips. He must still be thirsty, especially with all the talking he's been doing.

Lucy tried not to think about the blood loss.

"Exactly what I said," he quipped, a bit of snark in his tone, "when the previous Commander dies, their spirit chooses the next in the conclave," Natsu tilted his head, eyes growing curious, "how do you choose your leaders?"

"Conclave?" Lucy asked, ignoring his question. That didn't matter right now.

"It's where the Natblida who are of age battle each other to the death," Natsu stated plainly. Lucy sucked in a breath, glancing at Jellal to see his jaw clench. She shouldn't be very surprised at anything Natsu says at this point, but she couldn't help it. It was just so _different_ from what she knew.

"How old does someone have to be to be of age?" Lucy knew they wouldn't like the answer, but she had to ask it.

"Typically after their first kill, or when they turn ten," Natsu let out a bark of laughter, his words harsh. Lucy sucked in a breath at his words, not even able to imagine killing someone, let alone before the age of _ten_.

Jellal rubbed his hands down his face in frustration, obviously annoyed by how slow the conversation was going and how they weren't getting anywhere. "So what makes you think that this 'rightful' Commander will be any better than the present one?"

Natsu huffed, and Lucy was sure that if he was able, he would have crossed his arms over his chest. Instead, he settled for glaring at Jellal, jaw clenched and body stiff. "I grew up with her. She's family-my _sister_. I know her better than anyone."

Lucy glanced over at Jellal, holding back a giggle at seeing him go rigid. She must be tired if she was about to laugh in such a serious situation.

When he stayed silent, Lucy sighed and her eyes met Natsu's while being sure to not break contact for even a second, "fine. So how do we do this?"

Natsu's eyes lit up and a wide grin spread across his face, "we go see Gray."

Xxx

"Who's this 'Gray', again?" Lucy asked, tugging her coat closer around her body as the night air began to grow chilly. Her, Natsu, and Jellal decided to leave a few days after their decision, during the night so they wouldn't be spotted. The plan was for her and Natsu to head to this place that Lucy kept forgetting the name of-a plan Jellal protested against vehemently-and for Jellal, with the help of someone from Natsu's village, to go see this Commander person that Natsu knew. Apparently, she was out in the middle of the ocean.

"He's the prince of the Ice Nation- _Azgeda_. I've known him since I was a child since our fathers had an alliance with each other. He'll help us, I'm sure of it." Natsu's voice was firm, with a hint of pride in his voice.

"And why am I the one going with you instead of Jellal?" It was a logical question, she thought. Jellal was the one who gave off an air of power and authority-she just happened to go to the dropship at the right time.

"Women are seen as more powerful-they'll be more likely to help if you're there instead of him. Plus," Natsu turned his head (he was walking in front of them since they had no clue where they were going), a smirk on his mouth and his eyes glinting in the dark, "I don't fancy a three-day trek with _him_. You're much better company."

Lucy was thankful for the dark as she felt her cheeks heat up at his comment. She knew it was because Natsu and Jellal despised each other and Natsu seemed like the kind of guy to crack jokes, but she still wasn't used to it.

She huffed and then squeaked as she tripped over a root in the ground, but before she could even stumble forward, Natsu turned on his heel and reached out while grabbing her arms and pushing her back to her feet, all in one swift movement. Just as suddenly as he caught her, he was back in the front, walking at a steady pace.

A heavy hand fell on her shoulder, and she turned to see Jellal looking at her in concern, "you okay?"

Nodding, she patted his hand and continued walking, eyes fixed on Natsu's back. "Thank you," she called. She saw him twitch, but besides that, she didn't receive a response. Frowning, she decided to continue asking him about this plan, since he didn't say much before they left.

"This person we're getting to escort Jellal, how do you know we can trust them?"

Natsu sighed, probably annoyed with all her questions, but she didn't really care. This was a dangerous situation and she'd be damned if she let anyone else get hurt, even if it was Jellal.

She paused in her thoughts, realizing that instead of ' _even if',_ it was ' _most especially'_ , Jellal. She wondered when he had become important to her in the past few days.

Natsu broke her out of her thoughts, his words short and sharp, "how do you know you can trust me?"

Lucy bit her lip and stared at the ground, staying silent. He had a point. They still didn't have good reason to trust one another-they just had too. They carried on walking in silence, though Lucy could tell Natsu was annoyed with how loud their footsteps were compared to his practically silent ones.

Natsu shot up a hand, telling them to slow down and hide under a large subterranean alcove in the ground covered by moss. It was a tight squeeze, and Lucy's shoulders were pressed tight against Jellal's, the silence awkward and uncomfortable with neither of them able to do anything about it since Natsu said to keep quiet.

Lucy twirled the bracelet around on her wrist, eyes darting around in the dark as she tried to see anything that could be potentially dangerous. It was a useless task in reality-everything seemed dangerous to her. The air, the water, the people. She didn't know who or what to trust, and she found herself cursing the Ark for sending them down here with no information or guidance, and their only way to contact the Ark broke when they landed.

She felt Jellal nudge her shoulder and she turned to see him giving her a reassuring smile. She found that it actually worked, the pain in her shoulders starting to dissipate, and her breathing started to even out. She gave him a small smile in return before her eyes darted in front of the entrance to the alcove again, almost shouting when Natsu's head suddenly appeared. Motioning for them to exit the alcove, Lucy got out first and saw someone standing behind Natsu, a white strand of hair peeking out from their hood. They had two short daggers attached at the hip, and from what Lucy knew of grounders, they probably had a lot more hidden.

Once they were far enough from the village to talk freely, the grounder removed their hood and Lucy was shocked to see that it was a girl and that she was one of the most beautiful people she had ever seen.

"This is Mira," Natsu gestured, and Lucy only noticed then the tattoo on his neck, matching the one on Mira's cheek. She couldn't quite make out what it was in the dark, but it seemed like three crescent moons facing outward. It looked almost like...a biohazard symbol."She will bring Jellal east to Erza, and we will all meet back at your ship."

Nodding, Lucy sent Jellal a nervous look. She still wasn't sure if this was the best idea, but it was the only idea they had that made any sense.

"May we meet again," she reached out a hand, smiling at him.

He blinked at her before a grin broke out, and he stepped forward and around her hand to envelope her in a hug.

"May we meet again," he whispered before letting go. He nodded at Natsu and Mira gave Lucy a once over before giving her a short nod, and they headed off into the night.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy tried to steel her nerves. She wished she hadn't got dragged into this-but she wouldn't want to put this burden on anyone else, either.

"Ready?" Natsu asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

Shakily nodding her head, Lucy took a step forward and tried to muster up all her courage as she looked at Natsu.

"Ready."

* * *

Trigedasleng Translations:

Natblida→ Nightblood


	6. Gray, Hainofa Kom Azgeda

_A/N: Hello, it's me._

 _Enjoy this chapter that took me much to long to write and should be better quality but alas here we are. Please review, they really make my day. School is kicking my butt and I could use something good. And if you have any positive criticism, that'd be great._

 _Also no translations this time for trigedasleng. It's more fun for me this way *wink wink* (if anyone wants to know where I get the majority of the translations from, it's from t_ _rigedasleng . info / dictionary / )_

 _Sidenote though I actually do have a plan for this story and that's like, the first time I ever actually tried writing anything knowing what I want to have happen lol._

* * *

 _Chapter 6: Gray, Hainofa Kom Azgeda_

* * *

Natsu wasn't really sure what was so special about what Lucy and Jellal said, but he could tell it meant a lot to Jellal. In the few short days he had known them, he never saw Jellal smile so wide-only when Wendy was around. He wanted to ask, but he didn't think he would really understand anyway. He didn't understand _them_ , just as he was sure they didn't understand him or his people.

"How long should it take us to get there?" Lucy asked from beside him, her eyes bright in the darkness. They had only been walking for about half an hour and he could tell she was struggling to keep up with his pace.

"Three days or so, would quicker on horseback," he replied, keeping his voice low and steps light. He couldn't say the same for Lucy, her feet were heavy, breaking every branch and twig in her path.

"You've got to be kidding me," she groaned, causing Natsu's eye to twitch in irritation.

"That's just to the border, and luckily for us, their Capital isn't any further than that. It could be much worse," for their limited supplies and his sanity.

"Well, I'm sorry but I'm not used to walking long distances. The Ark was very limited in space," Lucy let out a laugh, though he didn't quite understand why. "In any case, why is the Capital so close to the border? That's a bit weird, isn't it?"

"If they lived any further north they wouldn't be able to survive. Too cold." He glanced at her, taking in her thoughtful expression. He never thought much about it, so he wasn't sure if that actually was the answer, but it made enough sense to him. She most likely thought the same way when she was explaining their technology to him. The things that they used every day to live seemed so obvious, but the more he thought about it the more he knew that was wrong.

"Do you think we could actually ride a horse at some point?" she asked sounding like a small child. He held back a smile, instead focusing on their immediate surroundings.

"You're being too loud," he stated, stopping in his tracks, "we'll be noticed." She stopped, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"Well, what do you expect me to do about it? I'm being as quiet as I can." He narrowed his eyes, thinking. He understood that this was hard for her. She didn't grow up hunting and stalking prey like he did.

His eyes widened as an idea popped into his head, and while it wasn't a permanent solution-and would slow them down-it would work for now. He turned his back to her and bent down, craning his neck to look at her with a gesture to get on.

"You want to give me a piggyback ride." It was more of an accusation than a question and he rolled his eyes in response.

"If scouts hear us they'll shoot to kill, so it's this or risk getting hit." They didn't have time to argue either and she knew it. With a sigh, she moved forward and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

"If you drop me I'll be the one doing the killing," she threatened, but he could hear the smile in her voice. With a smirk, he stood up, pretending to topple over as he did.

"Ahh, Lucy! You're so heavy!" he whined, grinning as she smacked his shoulder.

"Oh shut up and walk." He grinned, for some reason feeling lighter than he should.

"We'll know when we're close to a large body of water. I've only seen it a handful of times after coming with my father to alliance meetings when I was young. I haven't been back in years," he spoke softly and Lucy could imagine what he was feeling. She missed her mom. It was like a deep hole was left in her chest, something she didn't think would ever be filled.

"It's quite beautiful, actually," he continued, and Lucy stayed silent as she walked beside him, doing her best to keep her steps light. As much as she appreciated being carried every now and then, she didn't want to burden him. He was obviously tired and in need of a good nap.

"I can't wait to see it. I never imagined I'd get to Earth, you know. I could write a million stories about Earth and what I thought it would be like, but it was always just a dream." None of the stories she made up could even begin to compare to reality. She wasn't sure if reality was better, though. This Earth was scary and uncertain and she was wandering around trying to stop a war with someone who doesn't know what basic technology is.

"So what changed? You never really told me why your people came down here." He glanced over at her, eyes curious and unsure, bright green eyes, flecked with bits of gold, shining almost like a gem. There weren't many people on the Ark with light coloured eyes. She found it fascinating.

"We were all prisoners on the Ark." She began, noting the quick flicker of shock on his face. "Up there, every crime is punishable by death when you're over eighteen. Luckily, my birthday isn't for a few weeks." She sighed, tugging on her sleeves as she tried to think of how to explain to him what had happened. "My mother discovered a flaw in the system of the Ark, one that should never have been there. One that we should have had time to fix. We were running out of oxygen." She took a deep breath, clutching the bracelet around her wrist as if it was the only thing keeping her alive. "My mother thought the people deserved to know. I found out about her plan-and I agreed. So they-" _Deep breath. In, out._ She ran her hands through her hair, trying to clear her mind. She hated talking about this. "They floated, err, _executed_ her," she clarified at the confused look on Natsu's face, "and they locked me up so I wouldn't tell anyone. And that's why they sent us. We were good for nothing kids who were expendable. They didn't actually believe that the ground was survivable, but they needed to make time for everyone else. We might have bought them another few months, at best."

He stayed silent for a few minutes and the pair continued to walk, the sounds of nature never being so clear to Lucy. She always tried to fill the silence, her time in solitary were unpleasant memories she didn't care to relive.

But the birds singing in the early hours of the morning made her mind relax and the unease she had been feeling started to dissipate.

"You think our ways are violent," Natsu started suddenly, causing her to jump a little, "but your people killed one of your own for trying to save everyone." His gaze met hers, no sign of accusation in his eyes, only pity. "Maybe we're not that different after all."

He didn't say anything else and neither did she, both staring straight at the path ahead of them. It was true, after all. Killing was killing, and who were they to say the end justifies the means?

"I am sorry, Lucy," he stated, his voice unnaturally soft as he turned to stare at her, a sadness visible in his features. "I know what it's like to lose a parent. Especially when it was an unfair death."

"We're here." He stopped in his tracks, staring straight ahead. She followed his gaze, eyes widening at the site in front of her.

"Wow," she breathed, at a loss for words-something that didn't happen to her very often.

"In the winter this is frozen over, making it easier to get across. Unfortunately for us, we have to take a boat." Natsu left her standing in awe for a few moments, and if she were honest she barely noticed he was gone. Before she knew it he was back, dragging along the most dangerous looking 'boat' she had ever seen. Granted, it was the _only_ boat she ever saw, but she rests her case.

"You're joking right?"

"If I'm joking you're not loud and annoying." He countered, canine teeth visible as he grinned at her. "Well come on then, we don't have all day. Get in. I'll push and jump in."

With great resistance, she climbed in the front of what she assumed was a canoe, gripping the paddle he handed to her so hard her knuckles were white with strain.

"Relax, sky girl. I've travelled by boat many times. I know what I'm doing." He was laughing at her-which she highly resented. As he pushed the canoe into the water she felt her heartbeat quicken and her fears mounted. She didn't know how to swim or paddle or even hold her breath for very long. She was not okay with this.

"Well, I don't. I don't at all. I don't know how to swim Natsu. I can't do this." She was panicking, her throat felt like it was closing up and suddenly she was rocking forward as the canoe fully submerged, then back as Natsu jumped in and grabbed her shoulders, holding her steady.

"Trust me. I won't let you drown. When this is all over, I'll even teach you to swim." He gave her shoulders a squeeze, then suddenly the pressure was gone. She still felt anxious, but she wasn't scared for her life anymore.

Natsu would protect her. She would be fine.

"Let's just get this over with," she sighed, thrusting her paddle into the water.

"It's not funny!" Lucy exclaimed, ringing her hair out as she shivered from the cold and wetness as Natsu laughed at her.

"You're wrong-it's hilarious. You should see yourself!" Lucy wished she could strangle him, but instead she settled for glaring.

"Need I remind you we're on a serious mission?" She sneezed, groaning in defeat. She would have to take off her shirt, and probably her pants, to let them dry. Wearing them soaked would just make matters worse.

"You're right, I'm sorry, here," he laid his weapons on the ground so he could pull his long coat off, offering it to her.

"Thank you," she grabbed the coat, reading herself to take off her damp clothes before she noticed he was staring. "Excuse me." She said, staring right back at him. He didn't seem to get the hint, however.

"Could you please turn around?" she asked politely, not wanting him to take his coat back. It was freezing out.

He just raised an eyebrow before turning his back, picking up his weapons from the ground. "I suppose I could have warned you that the boat would be unbalanced when you got out. I'm sorry for that."

Surprised, Lucy didn't say anything back and just wrapped the coat around, using his belt to tighten it so it worked more like a dress.

"No real harm done, I guess," she offered, picking up her wet clothes and sighing as she rolled them into a ball to carry. "Where to now?"

The question seemed pointless, seeing as there was a huge structure smack in front of them; it was visible from the other end of the lake. But maybe they were heading to somewhere more conspicuous, so had no idea. Natsu didn't offer up much information about anything.

"The Azgeda citadel. Straight ahead." He didn't even wait for her to respond before he started toward the towering structure. It was tall, insanely so. Straight, narrow, with a sphere near the top. It also looked like the top was broken, and she would have been surprised if it wasn't. It almost looked familiar to her, probably from a picture in one of her history books.

"How are we supposed to get in?" she asked, hoping he had a plan that wouldn't get them killed.

"Easy. We let them come to us. Azgeda soldiers are always patrolling this area. We just have to request an audience with the Prince." He sounded so confident Lucy almost believed it would work.

"How do you know they won't just kill us?" It was a reasonable question she thought. There was a lot that could kill a person on Earth, the most dangerous thing was simply not knowing. And she certainly didn't know a lot of things.

"I don't."

" _Hod op!"_ someone shouted from behind, and an arrow whisked past her head and shot into a tree. She held her breath, limbs frozen from fear.

" _Chon yu bilaik?"_ A group of grounders appeared in front of them, arrows nocked and ready to shoot, others carrying swords and daggers.

" _Ai laik Natsu Kom Trigeda. En ai gaf chich op Hainofa Gray kom Azgeda."_

They waited, holding their breath to see what the Ice Nation soldiers would do. While Lucy wasn't positive on what Natsu said, she figured he asked to speak to Gray. And she hoped and prayed they let them.

" _Chon dison bilaik?"_

" _Lucy kom Skaikru."_

The grounders looked uneasy at Natsu's words, a few of them talking to each other and Lucy wished she understood what they were saying. She looked at Natsu and noticed how his shoulders tensed and his face stayed completely blank. She wondered how he did it and felt strangely sad that he did it so well.

" _Mafta osir op!"_ The grounders shouted, gesturing for them to follow. She stayed still, waiting for Natsu to tell her what to do.

The grounders grabbed her by her arms, jerking her roughly forward. She saw Natsu move, almost in a blink of the eye, as he punched the grounder who grabbed her and replaced their hands with his own.

" _Ai na goch em op,"_ he growled, throwing his bow to the ground, " _oso ou na kok au."_

Some of the grounders seemed to resist whatever Natsu said, but the one who seemed to be in charge stopped them from advancing on them, snapping a short, " _en's na bants."_ And then they were off and Lucy could barely feel her legs, the only reason she was still standing was Natsu's arm wrapped around her waist. He was practically dragging her around.

"You need to get a grip," he whispered in her ear, his hand pressing in on her waist. "You can't look weak. He won't take you seriously."

Nodding, she took a few breaths and steadied herself, the shock of their situation wearing off and the feeling in her legs coming back. His grip didn't loosen on her, something she appreciated. She could make herself look brave as hell, but she was still terrified. And he knew it.

"I hope you're not afraid of heights," he joked, distracting her from the grounders who kept staring at them and whispering things she didn't understand.

"I guess we'll find out," she let a smile slip out, thinking about how she really shouldn't be afraid of heights. But up on the Ark, there was no way to fall, no way to jump or be pushed off. She never had to be scared of falling.

"We're here." In front of them were a set of simple doors and strangely she was surprised. She expected something more overwhelming and grandiose. "Now to get to the throne room."

Lucy did _not_ like how he said that.

"And how do we do that?" She questioned, knowing she wouldn't like the answer.

"We climb."

The inside was ice. Completely ice. As she looked up she saw that it was almost like an ice shaft, the dents clearly visible where people climb. She had a lot of doubts about this, mainly _how_ this was all still here and functioning, and she couldn't help but wonder how much longer it would last.

"Of course, that's if we didn't know about the _actual_ way up." Natsu went and talked to the leader grounder who nodded, and then they were following him outside of the building again and toward another door. It was hidden slightly behind a wall of ice and blended in so well she never would have guessed it was there. "The other entrance is toward those off who attempt to attack Ice Nation, but it wouldn't hold if that was the only way in and out."

There was what she thought was an old elevator with the door missing in the room, wire rope attached to it and extending so high into the building she couldn't see the end. The rope was looped around multiple pulleys, with multiple grounders stationed in the room who she assumed operated the system.

She almost wanted to take her chances with the ice shaft.

"Are you sure this is safe?" She asked, cautiously following him into the elevator.

"Am I dead?" he retorted.

"I guess that's a good point." He was still breathing, and he said he came here a lot as a child.

"Besides, the ice shaft is actually used for executions. Wouldn't want to risk someone falling on us on our way up."

Before she could respond the elevator started to move and she wasn't used to it so she started to fall forward before Natsu reached out and grabbed her.

"Careful, _ai skaifaya._ Can't have you dying just yet."

The elevator came to a rough stop after a few minutes of silence. She didn't know what he called her, and she didn't want to ask.

They strode forward, past a number of soldiers who were standing guard in the circular room, and Lucy forced herself to not look out the windows surrounding them. They finally approached what appeared to be the Ice Nation throne, with a man with dark black hair and a scar decorating the left side of his face. Needless to say, he gave her the chills.

"Natsu kom Trikru. This is a surprise." He drawled with a gravelly with a hint of an accent. "And of course Lucy kom Skaikru. An honour."

She felt it was anything _but._

"Haihefa Silver, I apologize for the unannounced visit. However, we wish to speak to Hainofa Gray." Lucy wanted to laugh at how polite Natsu was being, but she supposed he didn't want his head cut off.

A glint caught her eye and she glanced down, and to her horror, the throne the king was sitting was situated over what appeared to be ice, frosting up the legs of the throne. She could clearly see the ground below them, and she realized in that moment that she _was_ afraid of heights.

 _An ice floor,_ she thought, no believing that's what it really was. It had to be glass. But still, how was it so durable?

"I thought as much. He'll be right up. In the meantime, sky girl, why don't you tell me why you're here and why I shouldn't have you killed?" She felt a lump in her throat, surprised by his bluntness. And then she got angry. This wasn't her, _their_ , fault that they were on Earth. The 100 while guilty in many ways, were victims in this scenario. And she was over people accusing them of something they had no control over.

"If you want to kill me, you would have already, so can we all just drop the pointless threats at this point," she saw Natsu smirk out of the corner of her eyes, giving her more confidence to continue, even with Silver showing no change in his features. "Our home was dying. So, our leaders thought it was necessary to send me and my fellow 'sky people'," she mocked, hating the name, "down here, even though they didn't think we would survive. They sent us to our death, we had no idea anyone was living on earth. So I'm sorry we're an inconvenience to you. But I'm not dead yet, and I don't plan on dying soon." She let out a long breath and felt a strange kind of relief after her little outburst, followed by embarrassment. She didn't realize she was holding so much in.

"Well, that certainly is quite the women you've got there, Natsu."

A deep voice sounded from behind them, amusement clearly evident.

Lucy felt her face heat up, slowly turning around to face the newcomer.

Her eyes met dark blue, feeling a chill run down her spine.

His lip quirked, hand resting on the handle of a sword attached at his waist. She gulped, for some reason much more terrified of the man in front of her than of the King.

There was no doubt. This was Gray.


End file.
